Visiting Zhao Dashan wasn't as simple as just saying it. Since we were in the county town, we couldn't forget Zuo Lin and Uncle Ye. With so many visits, our plans for the next day would have to change.
Zhou Jiao also wanted to give her husband and sons a good day off.
It was a rare coincidence that Zhang Guoqing also wanted to take his wife out for a day.
So, after dinner, the couple tacitly began to clean up quickly. If a family changes clothes, they always ask for gifts when visiting someone's house.
After returning to the county town, they separated and went to find their own mothers.
Zhang's mother, who was bored in the courtyard and considering whether to leave her husband to work, greeted her son and his family with a smile when she saw them coming in.
"You bad boy, why are you taking the kids out for a walk at night so late? You can't do that tomorrow. Have you eaten yet? Mommy made you something delicious."
Looking at Zhang's mother, Zhao Jianguo felt a warm feeling in his heart. This is maternal love. A mother will always ask her son if he is hungry, cold, or has gained weight or lost weight.
"Mom, I've eaten. Don't be in a hurry. Your son might still be hungry."
He was just about to go over and say a few more words to his mother, but before he could take a few steps forward, Zhang's mother had already passed him by, bending over and holding her two little sons.
Well, he's out of favor again.
With Zhang's mother taking care of the children, Zhang Guoqing felt much more at ease. Seeing that it was getting late, he took Zhou Jiao and two bottles of wine to the Zhao family not far away.
In the past two years, Zhao Dashan's family has added more wing rooms to their yard. It seems that even though their two sons have started their own families, their parents still remember to reserve rooms for them, regardless of whether they are around or not.
"You kid still remember to come over?" Zhao Dashan was playing with his grandson in the yard. When he saw the couple come in, he immediately raised his voice and joked, "Wife, Jiaojiao is here, open a watermelon."
"Uncle, why are you so polite? Just a glass of water will do."
Zhao Dashan glared at him amusedly. "You're so beautiful! I used you to entertain Jiaojiao. It's almost like eating melon rinds. I haven't seen you for more than two years. You've grown stronger."
Zhang Guoqing put down his drink and raised his arms to compare, "I exercise every day. Look, they're all muscles."
"Well, the limbs are more developed."
Cheng Hongli came out and heard it. She chuckled and said, "You're already a grandfather, but you're still like a child. Xiaowu, come and eat watermelon with Jiaojiao."
Zhao Dashan smiled disapprovingly at what his wife said, pointing to the long bench beside him and motioning them to sit down. "How's Brother Zheng?"
"My dad was on a business trip before we came here. There's been some trouble over there recently, so he's a bit busy." Zhang Guoqing took a piece of watermelon and handed it to Zhou Jiao.
The child in Zhao Dashan's arms screamed and reached out to grab the child, which made Zhang Guoqing laugh happily. "Is this Hongbing's son?"
"Yeah, you can see that?"
Zhang Guoqing smiled at Cheng Hongli and said, "It depends on how good his dad is."
Cheng Hongli burst into laughter upon hearing this. She hadn't guessed wrong; this was Zhao Hongbing's eldest son. She had been on vacation these past few days, so she had her grandson over to play.
"Uncle, how have you been lately?"
Zhao Dashan shook his head. "A military representative has arrived, organizing ideological study sessions every day. Now the streets are full of little brats with red cloth tied around their arms. They're so crazy that the whole world can't contain them."
Cheng Hongli called out "Old Zhao" in disapproval.
Zhao Dashan waved his hand. "They are not outsiders. I will be careful when I am outside."
Cheng Hongli gave Zhou Jiao a wry smile and stood up, holding her grandson in her arms. "Let's go inside. Your uncle is feeling really bad, let Xiaowu try to talk him down."
Zhou Jiao looked at Zhao Dashan worriedly and followed her into the house.
"Originally, your uncle wanted Ping'an and the others to stay in the city, but when he heard you were coming, he decided it would be better for them to stay in the countryside. Don't listen to his nonsense about not coming to see him sooner."
Zhou Jiao smiled and nodded.
"Did you see the groups of young people when you came here?"
Zhou Jiao actually saw it, checking for suspicious individuals and picking out the weak ones to make some money. They were all young men in their teens, and for some reason they hadn't gone to the countryside.
"Did they give you any trouble? The county has an inspection office, and these young people are part of it."
"Two of them seemed to know Xiaowu and Yuntao. By the way, Yuanyuan and her family of three came with us. She said she was in a hurry to catch the bus and will come back to see you and uncle next time."
Zhou Jiao didn't ask what was going on with these young people from the Inspection Office. It was simply that they had someone behind them or had established a firm foothold in the early stages.
What about the County Inspection Office? These are all self-proclaimed organizations, yet they still have the power to intervene. Nowadays, even the police department has given way to these self-proclaimed organizations in many matters.
"Oh, then you should recognize Xiaowu. Now when members of the production team come to visit relatives in the city, they have to be inspected if they bring too much stuff. I wanted to buy some cotton and send it to your family last year, but unfortunately all the tails were cut off."
Zhou Jiao smiled and said, "I haven't thanked you yet. My mother really likes the cotton cloth you sent her."
"Your mother sends countless things here every year, so why be so polite? The homespun cloth was exchanged in a nearby village. I'll go ask about it later."
Zhou Jiao quickly refused: "We still have some at home, enough. I heard from my mother-in-law that with the establishment of the Revolutionary Committee, they're checking very closely now, so it's better to be careful than to go wrong."
Cheng Hongli smiled at this and changed the subject to talk about other things. She knew that no matter how much time had passed, a person's nature could not be changed, and this girl was still very cautious in her actions.
Outside the house, Zhao Dashan was talking to Zhang Guoqing about the changes in the county town in recent years, especially in the past year.
"Old Master Liu's two sons still couldn't escape. The first group was overthrown in the summer of the previous year. I heard that even the old man's old friends in the provincial capital couldn't be saved."
"At the beginning, the things that were smashed were all driven over to our place and taken to the East Suburbs Scrapyard. The trucks were provided by our company. I was so heartbroken..."
"As soon as the Revolutionary Committee was established, Li Aiguo, who was very capable, immediately stabilized it. The others were either demoted or left. The only two units that survived were ours and the Zuolin Bureau. If they hadn't had the real weapons, they would have been rushed in as well."
Zhang Guoqing didn't need to see his expression to know how dangerous the situation was. Although he was in the army, he had heard a lot of rumors about bullets flying everywhere.
Even in the Forty-Nine City, a decisive battle could occur, not to mention the mountains and rivers here. He didn't know what words to use to comfort Zhao Dashan.
"It wasn't just here. Remember that reed marsh by the river outside the northern suburbs of the provincial capital?" Zhao Dashan frowned. "When the fighting was at its worst, five people were killed in that wild river area by the reed marsh. It's impossible to count how many more people were injured."
How could Zhang Guoqing not know? That vast riverbank was not only teeming with wild ducks and river fish, but also with snakes and insects in the reeds, where many Japanese soldiers had been buried.
The fight going on over there truly disregarded feudal superstition and human life. He didn't know whether to call those people naive or courageous.
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